"We either received cuts or level funding for several years, and it seemed like it got bad in 2008, and it's just not gotten better. We are fighting for every dollar," said Simone.

The cuts mean fewer staff at the center, less outreach and an automated phone system when you first call instead of a live person right away.

"It sounds easy enough, but you're not buying a T-shirt. This is a health emergency, and if you're panicked you might not make good decisions and that can delay things, and it can be very frightening," said Simone.

The phone system has reduced call volume by almost 100 calls a day by filtering out non-emergencies.

However, Simone said if someone doesn't ask a question, they could end up with a poisoning that is more expensive in the long run.

"For an unnecessary ambulance trip or hospital trip, that's costly for insurance companies, hospitals, staff, and very scary for parents and children," said Simone.

Mother Stephanie Burke said she put the center's number on her fridge as soon as she found out she was pregnant, and now relies on the peace of mind the center provides.

"I have a young child who's 3 1/2 and you never know what they're going to eat, especially like things in the yard that they could pick up like mushrooms or berries," said Burke.

Simone said half of the center's calls are from parents of small children. The other half are attempted suicides or accidental overdoses.

Hospitals also rely on the center because they don't have toxicologists on their own staff, like the center does.

"It is overwhelming and very stressful for our staff and not best for the people we're serving, but like a lot of other places, we're doing the best we can with what we have," said Simone.

Simone said the center needs more than $200,000 to get the budget up to $2 million, where she said services would be adequate again.

Simone said she is reaching out to insurance companies to help fund the gap in their budget because they benefit from the center's work.